Introduction

Swimming is motion. Pictures and videos are a very helpful means to study swimming technique. Sometimes it's better to make yourself comfortable to read a book. What do the experts have to tell us swimmers and coaches about swimming technique and training principles? For both swimmers and coaches, browsing in books can be very inspiring.

Below you find a small number of books and online bookshops that offer a good selection of swimming books.

If you can recommend a book or know of other online bookshops, please let us know . Many thanks.

Books

Ernest W. Maglischo: Swimming Even Faster. A comprehensive guide to swimming for both coaches and swimmers. This text has been the definitive resource for information about competitive swimming. 1993, 758 pages (!), more than 200 illustr. covers all aspects of swimming. A MUST! Ca. 60 € (www.amazon.de/Fahnemann)

Cecil M. Colwin: Swimming Into The 21st Century. Coach Cecil Colwin has been involved in competitive swimming for more than 50 years. He has long been known for his work on the technical aspects and history of swimming. Until the 1980s, swimmers and their coaches focused on power. They took inspiration from mechanical models such as propellers and paddle wheels. The typical swimmer had shoulders like a Bulgarian weightlifter, and the emphasis was on lots of long-distance training sessions, according to renowned coach Cecil Colwin, author of Swimming info the 21st Century. The science of biomechanics "has been incorrectly focused on emulating the actions of mechanical propellers instead of . . . mechanisms more akin to natural flight and fish propulsion", he wrote. 1992, 255 pp., 133 ill., 15 photos. Ca. 42 € (www.amazon.de/Fahnemann)

Phillip Whitten: The Complete Book Of Swimming. From the editor of Swimming Technique, Swimming World, and Swim. One of the best books for all levels if swimming. 1994, 380 pp., ill., soft cover. Ca. 24 € (www.amazon.de/Fahnemann)

Emmett W. Hines: Fitness Swimming. Fitness Swimming is designed to help recreational and competitive swimmers, as well as triathletes, improve both their swimming technique and their conditioning. The book shows how to step by step build a more effective and efficient freestyle stroke using simple drills; then it guides swimmers through a structured conditioning program that emphasizes continued development and refinement of that technique. 1999, 192 pp., ill., soft cover. Ca. 17 € (www.amazon.de)

James E. Counsilman / B. E. Counsilman: The New Science Of Swimming. 1994, 419 pp., many photos and ill., soft cover. This text is a revised and rewritten update of "The Science Of Swimming" from 1969. Ca. 50 € (www.amazon.de/Fahnemann)

James E. Counsilman: Doc Counsilman on Swimming. Seems to be outdated, but is still a must for every coach. Doc Counsilman was one of the first coaches who scientifically analyzed swimming. 1978, 178 pp., many photos, hard cover. Ca. 18 € (www.amazon.de/Fahnemann)